India
DRI Seizes 50 kg of Methamphetamine in Two Operations, Arrests Four
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 50 kg of methamphetamine in two operations in Mizoram and Assam on 29 and 30 October. The haul included 30 kg of Yaba tablets and 20 kg of crystal meth. Four people were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and all three vehicles used to transport the contraband were seized. The seizures followed intelligence that multiple consignments of narcotics were being moved from Zokhawthar toward Aizawl and Silchar.
In the first operation on 29 October, DRI officers, assisted by the Assam Rifles, intercepted a vehicle on the outskirts of Aizawl along the Aizawl‑Champhai Road. A search of the vehicle uncovered 30 kg of methamphetamine tablets packed in 30 brick‑sized packets. The drugs had been concealed in a specially constructed cavity inside an office table with a storage cabinet.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the drugs were smuggled from Myanmar. The seizures come after two other major methamphetamine seizures of 232 kg and 56 kg in the northeastern region. The DRI said it remains committed to disrupting organised narcotics trafficking networks, preventing the proliferation of synthetic drugs and safeguarding the country from the social and public health consequences of drug abuse.
The operations highlight the growing threat posed by the Golden Triangle, where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet. Myanmar’s Shan state has become a major centre for methamphetamine production, and trafficking networks are expanding into South Asia, including India’s northeastern states. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has identified the Golden Triangle as the region’s principal drug‑production hub.
According to a UNODC report released in July 2026, the combined annual retail value of the methamphetamine, ketamine and heroin markets in Southeast Asia is estimated at $75 billion to $109.7 billion. In 2025, authorities across East and Southeast Asia seized a record 349 tonnes of methamphetamine, a 48 % increase from the previous year. The agency has also flagged the growing reach of synthetic drugs from Southeast Asia into South Asia, Africa and Europe, underscoring the transnational nature of the trafficking networks.
The latest operation follows a series of major seizures by the DRI along India’s northeastern frontier in recent months. On 16 September, the agency seized 231.8 kg of suspected methamphetamine tablets from four trucks intercepted at multiple locations in Assam and Tripura, arresting three people and seizing all four vehicles. In that operation, the drugs were concealed in specially constructed cavities in the roofs of truck cabins, including a goods carrier transporting a declared load of cement.
Earlier, on 28 August, the DRI seized 76 kg of suspected methamphetamine tablets in two separate operations in Assam and Mizoram, arresting two people. In the Assam operation, 56 kg of tablets were recovered from a specially fabricated cavity behind the driver’s seat of a truck intercepted near Silchar. In Mizoram, 20 kg was recovered from deep cavities in a car’s side panels and the space between its fuel tank and floor. Preliminary investigations indicated that the latter consignment had been smuggled from Myanmar through the Zokhawthar‑Champhai sector.
In another operation announced on 7 August, the DRI seized 15 kg of methamphetamine tablets from an ambulance intercepted near Aizawl. The drugs were concealed in a bag placed beside a patient bed carrying a dummy patient. Preliminary investigations indicated that the consignment had entered Mizoram from Myanmar and was intended for onward transportation to Assam. Three people, including the ambulance driver, were arrested in that case.